Archive for December, 2016

Brock Lesnar is heading to the Royal Rumble, and he's got mayhem on his mind.
Paul Heyman's Beast Incarnate is hungry for revenge, and Jan. 29 is when he will try to get it. Lesnar will enter the Royal Rumble match and compete for the chance to work the main event of WrestleMania 33.
All eyes will be on him, and he will be out for blood.
The last time WWE fans saw him, Lesnar was laid out by Goldberg in just 86 seconds at Survivor Series. It was a shocking night and one that will never be forgotten. The man who stole ...

Heath Slater wasn't supposed to be here—lifting a championship title above his head at a WWE pay-per-view, shouting in glee, the central figure in a major storyline on SmackDown.
The One-Man Band occupied one of the WWE's lowest rungs. He was a comedy act, a roster filler and a wrestler intimately acquainted with defeat.
But 2016 didn't follow the script.
In WWE, this was the year of the underdog and the everyman. This was a year of Cinderella stories, of unexpected rises, of the company redefining what a wrestling star looks like.
Slater went from perennial loser and frequent benchwarmer to one half of the ...

John Cena Declares Himself No. 1 Contender
After being off the road for a few months, John Cena returned to SmackDown to make his intentions for 2017 as clear as possible.
Cena said he is tired of being called a part-timer and having his dedication questioned. He also emphasized he isn't planning to leave WWE for Hollywood anytime soon.
With The Leader of the Cenation one title win away from tying Ric Flair's record of 16 World Championships, it was just a matter of time before he targeted AJ Styles.
Cena will usually attempt to earn a title shot, but this time he chose to ...

WWE's failure to have Triple H address his unexpected alliance with Kevin Owens earlier this year ranks as potentially the company's biggest missed opportunity in 2016. As a result, how the company books his imminent return is vital for the success of any future storyline he's in.
It seems certain that The Game will play a key role on the WrestleMania card, with the biggest show of the year now just a few months away.
But how does WWE ensure it gets the return of Triple H as an active talent right? Here are a few possible options.
...

Roman Reigns is eyeing the top prize on WWE Raw, and he might just take it on Jan. 29.
WWE Royal Rumble 2017 will see The Big Dog face Kevin Owens for the WWE Universal Championship. It's a title Reigns desperately wants around his waist, but it's one KO will not give up without a fight. But Owens doesn't have his secret weapon this time.
Chris Jericho will be hanging just out of reach in a shark cage above the ring.
That means Owens will be on his own this time, with no help from his best friend. Y2J has had Owens' back through ...

Marty Scurll has been around the wrestling industry for more than a decade, but his transition to The Villain character has made waves around the world, including in the United States with his recent signing to Ring of Honor.
Ring of Honor fans were instantly treated to a surprise when Scurll won the World Television Championship from Will Ospreay during his first weekend with the company. The Villain then defended the title successfully at Final Battle 2016 on Dec. 2 against Ospreay and Dragon Lee in one of the best matches on the card.
In a recent interview promoting Ring of Honor, ...

It's easier to find bad matches in Royal Rumble pay-per-views than good ones.
That's because the Royal Rumble PPVs are all about the Rumble itself. Usually, the remaining matches are filler—unfulfilling appetizers to the main course. The classic, non-Rumble matches, such as The Rock vs. Mankind (1999), are few and far between.
This list is split into two types of "bad." There's the less ambitious "bad," where the match wasn't given the time or consideration to ever be good. And then, there's the more spectacular "bad," where WWE Creative attempted to book something special, but instead booked a match that fell on ...

If you have been watching wrestling for as long as most of the writers here at Bleacher Report, you know 2016 was a big year for WWE.
Just think about all the major events the company crammed into a 12-month period. We saw the return of the brand split and the creation of the Universal and SmackDown Tag Team Championships to even things out between brands.
The horrible Divas title was ditched in favor of two new Women's Championships for Raw and SmackDown. WWE also brought back the cruiserweight title at the end of an incredible tournament, and plans have been announced for a United ...

Seth Rollins is waiting.
The former Shield frontman and current Raw fan favorite has been biding his time for the moment when Triple H returns to the fold in WWE. He's not the only one waiting, as fans are expecting The King of Kings to eventually come back.
The sooner, the better for Rollins.
The Architect needs Triple H. Instead of moving ahead with a rivalry between the two when The Game betrayed Rollins, there has been nothing of any substance. Fans watched Rollins go after the new WWE universal champion, Kevin Owens, while Triple H once again disappeared.
He left many questions unanswered.
Rollins was never ...

As 2016 draws to a close, many people around the world are ready to move on. In the negative landscape of social media, 2016 has been deemed a cursed year and will likely be remembered for a slew of high-profile celebrity deaths—including beloved pro wrestlers like Chyna, Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten—and easily the most polarizing election in United States history.
2016 also had its ups and downs in WWE, and as the company continues to struggle to create new stars, it may finally be on to something with the brand split, which has created opportunities for up-and-comers. Many are looking ...